


Cat and Mouse

by captaincoffeegirl515



Category: 6 Underground (2019), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
Genre: F/M, M/M, go fuck yourselves, if there are any Trump supporters here, same with Pence supporters btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23393584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captaincoffeegirl515/pseuds/captaincoffeegirl515
Summary: After the Ghosts take down the extremely corrupt President Donald Trump, they set their sights on his second-in-command, Mike Pence as their next target. The G.I. Joes are tasked with stopping their next attack, capturing them, and bringing them to justice.But not everything is as it seems. As new revelations make themselves known, the Joes have to decide whether to follow orders or to do what is right.
Relationships: Dashiell "Flint" R. Faireborn/Alison "Lady Jaye" R. Hart-Burnett, Four | Billy (6 Underground)/Mouse (G.I. Joe), Three | Javier/Two | Camille (6 Underground)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 47





	Cat and Mouse

**Author's Note:**

> This is for heybuddy-drabbles (Nadia) and halfasleepoetry (Allie) on tumblr for starting the Mouse x Four pairing and inspiring + encouraging me to write this!
> 
> This is a continuation of my other 6 Underground fic (He Has A Thing For Blondes) but it can be understood without having to read it.
> 
> First of all, I literally don’t know anything about the G.I. Joes. I saw the movie once, years ago, dubbed it ‘mindless entertainment’, and promptly forgot about it. I only got their names off wikipedia. So don’t be mad if they’re terribly OOC because I just made-up completely new personalities for them.
> 
> Also, One is Jewish in my fics. Deal with it.
> 
> ALSO, I just found out that Snake-Eyes is WHITE?? Absolutely not! He's Japanese in my fics too. Deal with it.

_ “You really think they’ll be here?” _ Flint scanned the streets below with his binoculars, trying to find any hint of their targets.

Duke nodded from his position across the building they were meant to guard. “Yup. Intel’s been tracking them for the past few days. Found them having brunch here in Chinatown yesterday so it’s very likely the VP is gonna be their next target.”

_ “I dunno about you guys, but I’m actually grateful for them.” _ Mouse buzzed in from his rooftop perch about 500 yards away. Since he was a sniper, they thought it would be best if he stayed on the lookout from a distance.

“They killed the president, Mouse.”

_ “So? Guy’s an asshole. I know you think so too!” _

Flint agreed.  _ “C’mon Duke, he wanted us to take over Syria! Like completely own the whole country!” _

_ “And who cares if they’re going after Pence now. He’s even worse than Trump!” _

Duke sighed.  _ This boy is gonna get himself killed.  _ “Look. I’m not saying you’re wrong but you need to be careful. That kind of opinion can get you in serious trouble.”

_ “IT’S CALLED FREEDOM OF SPEECH, BITCHES!” _

_ “QUIT SCREAMING INTO YOUR MICS, goddammit!”  _ Roadblock yelled.  _ “We can hear you loud and clear!” _

Duke needed to snip this in the bud, fast. If this was being recorded… He didn’t want to entertain the notion. Mouse was still young and naive, thinking the First Amendment was gonna protect him, but times were changing, and not for the better. There were things moving around behind the scenes ever since Trump was elected, and somehow even though he was the leader of the country’s most specialized task force, his authority didn’t give him any access to whatever it was.

“Enough chit-chat. We’re supposed to be on the lookout for suspicious activity. There are six targets and we need to find them before shit blows up.”

Suddenly, they heard gunfire coming from the east side on the fourth floor, right where the vice president was hiding. A moment later, an explosion ripped through the side of the building, showering the streets below with broken glass and engulfing the room in flames.

“Shit! They’re already here.” Duke swore into his comm. “Fan out! See if you can find any of them!”

_ “I see one! Blond guy hopping over rooftops. He’s heading south.” _ Flint yelled at the same time Snake-Eyes spotted two of their targets running across the street to wait by a boxy car. 

_ “There are two more by the cafe.” _ He said before jumping down from where he was hiding to apprehend them.

“Go get him, Flint!” Duke barked orders as he broke through the main entrance of the building. “Jaye, with me. Mouse, watch for any stragglers. Roadblock, the runner’s also heading in your direction. Try to see if you can cut him off before he gets too far.”

_ “Yes, sir!” _

\-----

_ One Week Ago _

“MOUSE! MOUSE! MOUSE! MOUSE!” The crowd chanted as two men dunked their heads into barrels full of water and started their search. After several seconds, that chant rose to a deafening cheer as one of them, Mouse, straightened up with a grenade clenched between his teeth, declaring him the victor. Somebody tapped the loser’s back, and Flint spluttered to the surface.

“Man, you really suck at grenade-bobbing.” Roadblock laughed as he slung an arm across Flint’s shoulders.

“Ah, come on! He got lucky!”

“He got lucky all 39 times you’ve challenged him?”

“Yeah, actually-”

“ROADBLOCK! FLINT! MOUSE!” A hush fell over the crowd as their commanding officer, Duke, entered the large tent. He motioned for the three men to follow him out. “We’ve got a new assignment. The rest of you, as you were.”

\-----

When they reached the main office, Roadblock wasn’t surprised to see Jaye and Snake-Eyes already there. After Duke, the two were the most competent and skilled Joes in the force. Opposite them stood four somber-faced men wearing fancy, tailored suits. After everyone got settled, one of them stepped forward to address the team.

“We’ve just received word that the president has just been killed.” 

“Oh thank god!” Mouse muttered under his breath. Someone cleared their throat and he looked up to see Duke sending him a warning glare while the officials were giving him dirty looks. 

“Um, I meant ‘oh my god’” He amended. “That's horrible.” 

A suit sneered at him, clearly taking offense at his lack of remorse.

“Moving on, the president was killed during his golfing trip yesterday. We have camera footage of the suspects, however, Intel is having issues identifying them. They leave no trails, physical or electronic, that can connect them to any living person. We have them on camera but facial recognition doesn’t pull up any links. They’re pretty much ‘ghosts’ in the system.”

He started laying pictures down on the table for them all to see.

“As far as we know, there are about six of them. These men and women are your targets for this mission. You are to capture them so that we can hold them accountable for their crimes.”

Duke narrowed his eyes slightly at the look of hatred in the official’s eyes, and decided to call him out. “So basically, you’re saying you want to lock them up in your isolation tanks for the rest of their lives?”

He gave them a stiff smile. “In other words, yes.”

“That’s unusually extreme, don’t you think?”

“With all due respect, captain, they killed the president of the United States.”

“With all due respect,  _ sir _ , those tanks basically induce the most extreme form of torture on whoever is inside, and are only reserved for individuals that pose a serious threat on a global scale. Individuals like Zartan or Destro.”

“Or the US president.” Mouse whispered to Flint, who fought to keep his face neutral.

One of the nameless suits slammed a hand over the table. “Is there anything you’d like to share with the class, private?”

Mouse set his mouth in a fine line and cleared his throat. “No, sir.”

“That’s what I thought.” The snide, red-faced official backed down, gestured again to the photos, and reiterated their instructions to them in a clipped voice. “Your orders are to capture these ‘ghosts’ and lock them up in the isolation tanks, no questions asked. Dismissed.”

Mission given, the officials quietly filed out the doorway. Only when the door was fully shut did they all breath a sigh of relief, and relaxed.

Duke turned to face the redhead. “Goddammit, Mouse. Did you really have to go and piss them off like that?”

He shrugged, not knowing what to say.

“Nevermind. They’re gone now.” 

Duke gestured to the table. “Everyone, study the target’s faces so we know who to look for.”

Mouse sighed as everyone gathered around. It looked like the pictures were taken during a formal party and they all looked stunning in their suits and gowns. He didn’t think anything of them, until his eyes stopped at one familiar face.  His eyes widened almost comically as he grabbed the photo to look at it more closely. It really was him.  _ Ben. _

“Hey isn’t that the guy in Sicily?” Flint pointed out from over the redhead’s shoulder.

Roadblock loomed over the two so he could see the picture as well. “What guy?”

Mouse wordlessly flipped the photo to show everyone, instead of having them ask one after the other.

“You guys know him?” Duke asked.

Flint snickered. “I don’t know. Ask Mouse. He’s the one that got  _ really  _ up-close and personal with him.”

“Mouse, Flint, and I were at a cafe in Sicily” Jaye explained while rolling her eyes at Flint’s antics. “Then, that guy - he introduced himself as Ben - came over and tried to flirt with Mouse.”

“Was  _ that  _ what he was doing?”

“Keep it together, Flint.” She grinned.

Mouse smiled to himself as he remembered that day. The weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. White fluffy clouds drifted in the breeze. The three of them had just wrapped up another mission and wanted to celebrate. He could’ve already marked that day as ‘the best’, and then  _ he  _ showed up with that saucy smile, asking him if the carpet matched the drapes and if it was true what they say about gingers.

_ Mmm and that cute British accent tho.  _

“Yeah, I remember him. He was cute! Adorable. Like a big, fluffy, puppy.”

“He spilled your iced latte all over your lap, then panicked and tried to wipe it off with his bare hands.” Jaye deadpanned.

“Yeah.” He sighed wistfully. “I got a boner from that.”

Snake-Eyes snorted quietly while Roadblock looked heavenward and started praying, even though he was an atheist.

Duke groaned. “Jesus Christ, Mouse, we didn't need to know that.”

Instead, Mouse continued, staring dreamily into the distance. “God he was  _ so  _ cute! Big, green eyes. Pouty lips. Thick thighs. I bet he's a bottom.”

“Still don’t wanna hear it.”

“Man, makes me wanna bend him over and f-”

“WE DON’T NEED TO KNOW.” The slight crack in Duke’s voice at the end broke Flint, and his chuckles grew into boisterous laughter.

“Keep it in your pants, Mouse!” Flint gasped.

“All I’m getting from this is that Mouse is a moronsexual.” Jaye smirked at their poor, long-suffering captain.

The redhead pouted. “Please don't call me a moron.” 

After a beat, the realization hit him. “Wait-”

Roadblock threw his hands up in the air. “Oh good, they're  _ both  _ morons!”

\-----

_ Present Day _

“I am never listening to your Intel EVER AGAIN!” Two yelled into her comm as she took cover behind a marble pillar while secret service agents rained down bullets at her hiding spot. 

_ “Hey, I said I was sorry!” _ One whined.  _ “It’s not my fault they suddenly decided to up the security.” _

_ “Do you need backup?” _ Five spoke up worriedly.

Six bullets came out of nowhere in quick succession, taking out the men who had Two cornered.  _ “Two, you’re clear to go.”  _

She smiled. You could always count on Seven to have your back.

_ “You guys better get moving. I saw two guys go in and they had some serious gear on them.” _

_ “Copy that, Seven.” _ One headed down the stairwell. So far, it was all clear. Until he bumped into a dude who was wearing some high-tech gear.  _ “Oh shit!” _

_ “Four, you’ve got five guys on your tail! One of them has the same fancy gear and it looks like he’s got some parkour skills too.” _

_ “Yeah, I see him! Not bad, but he’s slow. I’m heading south-east. See if you can throw them off.” _

_ “Got it.” _

\-----

For someone dressed like a ninja, he was pretty easy to spot. He wore a pure white outfit that could be seen from a mile away. He was also walking directly towards them and staring right at the two with an almost lethal look in his eyes as he pulled something from his belt and threw it at Three. 

He barely managed to dodge the object which embedded itself into the wall where his head used to be. “Holy shit! Is that a ninja star?” He asked with an incredulous pitch in his voice

“We have to go! Three, come on!” Five yelled as she dragged the man into the car.

“They have a fucking  _ ninja _ !”

\-----

Two managed to escape to the roof only to run head-first into someone. It was one of the fancy-gear soldiers. “You have to be kidding me!” She swore as the soldier immediately got into a fighting stance, took out a knife, and swung at her.

Over the comms, she could hear One swear as he wrestled with the other special ops soldier. This was not looking good for them.

She traded blows while deftly dodging the knife. Two was well-trained, but not only did this woman fight well, she was also armed.  A small misstep was all it took, and the soldier's knife sank into her shoulder. 

Jaye’s jaw dropped in shock when her target didn’t even flinch. She remained stone-faced as she pulled the knife out of her own shoulder, leaned in close, whispered “an eye for an eye, bitch” and stabbed Jaye in the same spot she had been stabbed in.

Her scream was cut off when the blond bodily lifted her off the ground and threw her off the ledge. If it wasn’t for the balconies that jut out from the building, Jaye would have fallen multiple storeys to her death.

“Fuck. I don't know who they are but she’s tough.” She said breathlessly, amazed and a little bit turned on at how easily the other woman bested her.

\-----

“Anyways, if we make it out of this alive, we’ll still have lots of time to prepare for Hanukkah. My bubbe taught me how to make the best latkes and matzo balls in the city. You’re gonna love it!” One praised, as if he wasn’t busy wrestling for his life.

_ “Wait a minute! You didn’t do that last year!” _ Three said accusatorily.

“We weren’t that close last year.”

_ “We did Dia de los Muertos last year, right in the helicopter after we caught Rovach! You even had a picture of Six for the altar! We stopped to buy marigolds! The petals flew everywhere, but you get the point!” _

_ “Could you two shut up for ONE SECOND?!” _ Five roared in a fit of frustration as Three swerved through traffic in an attempt to lose the ninja. The sounds of tires screeching and cars honking could be heard over the comms.  _ “Save it for when people aren’t trying to kill us!” _

_ “What the fuck is this guy made of?!” _ Three yelled after he managed to get a truck to hit the ninja and knock him into a wall, only to see him up and running in the span of a few seconds.  _ “This is not fair! He should be dead!” _

\-----

Flint looked up as another guard, who had also been chasing the freerunner, fell with a gurgling sound. There was a bloody hole in his chest. He looked up, scanning the nearby buildings in the direction the bullets must have come from. 

"Guys, looks like they’ve got a sniper of their own."

_ “Shit.” _ Duke cursed. It was bad enough the target he was fighting managed to weasel out and disappear.  _ “Did you catch the guy you were chasing?” _

Flint was a parkour expert too, but this guy was really good. Even before their sniper showed up and started shooting at him, he’d already been falling behind.

“No, sir.” He answered, disappointed in himself.

Duke sighed over the comms.  _ “Maybe Mouse and Roadblock will have more luck. Get back to home base. Jaye’s injured. Snake-Eyes is here too. Looks like he got tired of getting hit by cars.” _

_ “I got hit by a train. What do you expect?” _

“On my way, sir.”

“They’re falling back!” Four whooped when the last man left chasing him turned tail and finally left him alone.

One sighed. Now he can relax.  _ “Good. Seven, start packing up.” _ He instructed.  _ “Everyone, get to the rendezvous point. Dinner’s on me! I’m thinking, that Filipino place we saw this morning.” _

Four grinned over the chorus of agreements before leaping across the gap onto the roof of a large mall.

\-----

Mouse started when he caught sight of the blond. “Hey Roadblock, I got eyes on Ben! Looks unarmed. He's heading down the mall you’re on!”

_ “I’m at the west side of it, just behind the main chimney. Try to see if you can get him to come my way.” _

Mouse nodded to himself then took aim and fired a few rounds into the wall in front of the runner. As expected, he rounded a corner instead of continuing forward, and crashed right into Roadblock.

Taking advantage of the blond’s surprise, Roadblock easily grabbed him and locked him in a chokehold, using his much bigger size and strength against the young man.

Four gasped and struggled to take in air. He kicked wildly and swung his arms back, slamming his elbows on whatever part he could reach but it was like hitting a brick wall. The other Ghosts were screaming in his earpiece, trying to find out what was happening and where he was, growing more and more worried with each passing second of radio silence. Then, he felt a sharp prick on the side of his neck and within moments his limbs began to feel heavy. Feeling a rush of panic, he renewed his attempts to break free against his solid, unmoving captor.

Roadblock counted to ten. By five, he could feel the sedatives fully take effect as the blond slumped into him, unconscious. He tested to see if the guy was really out for the count and then carefully lowered him onto the ground. Instead of looking like a battle-hardened criminal, Ben had - just like in the photo - a round, cherubic face, as if he still hadn’t gotten rid of all his baby fat. There was a large scar over his right temple, but that was about it.

_ God, he looks so young! _ It made him suddenly think of his niece, who was probably the same age as him.

Roadblock shook his head a bit more forcefully.  _ Now is not the time to be feeling sorry for your target!  _ He scolded himself.

He removed his earpiece and replaced it with the one the blond had on, and his hearing was immediately assaulted by multiple voices screaming through the comm.

_ “Four! Four, answer me goddammit! What’s going on? Where are you?” _

For a second, he felt a twinge of guilt from hearing how scared and worried the others sounded, but he quickly quashed the feeling down. _ It’s just a job. _ He tried to tell himself. _ Just doing my job. They killed the president, and so it is my mission to stop them. _

“Listen up Ghosts, this is the G.I. Joes, United States Special Forces. I have one of your buddies with me right now.”

_ “If you’ve hurt him, I swear-” _

He continued, ignoring all the threats that were hurled his way. “You have one hour to surrender. Meet us at the abandoned steel mill down in Avenue Lane. If you attempt a rescue, we will shoot him then hunt the rest of you down one by one. If you refuse to show, we will take him, alone, into custody where he will be tortured for information. Your one hour starts now. Over and out.” 

And without waiting for a reply, he took out the earpiece, slung their unconscious target over his shoulder, and made his way down the fire escape to meet up with the others where Flint was patching up Jaye after her stabbing and tumble off the building. 

\-----

“He’s fucking lying!” Seven slammed his fist on the wall to make his point. “The military bans torture! And especially as an interrogation technique! Even if they were ordered to, they could just refuse to do it!”

“We can’t know for sure that they won’t do it.” Ever the cynic, One didn’t believe for a second that they wouldn’t harm Four for morality’s sake. His ancestors had experienced first-hand the atrocities soldiers were willing to commit under the guise of ‘just following orders’.

“I should have gone with him!” Three wailed. “Should have done something!”

Five rubbed his arm, trying to comfort the man. “You can’t blame yourself for this! We all know none of us can keep up with him when he’s doing his thing.”

“Two? Seven? You two know the most about their Special Forces. Have either of you heard of these G.I. Joes?”

They both shook their heads sadly at One’s question. Whoever they were, it was either extremely new or a very, very, well-kept secret.

One rubbed a hand over his face, frustrated at the lack of any other choice than the one that was already laid out for them.

\-----

It didn’t take long for the Ghosts to appear. Flint had expected them to show up one by one as they gave in to their attachment to the captured young man. Instead, they walked in as a group and immediately started making demands, most of them concerning the well-being of their captured teammate.

They addressed each other using numbers, One through Seven, but the Joes noticed they skipped a number.

“So where's Six?” Flint demanded. “They didn’t want to join you?” 

A pained look flashed across One's face and disappeared in an instant. “We don't have a Six.” He responded shortly.

“Ohh so it's like a trick, huh?” 

“Yeah. Something like that.” 

Except Duke knew that look anywhere. He’s seen it in the mirror whenever he lost one of his men. “Sorry for your loss.”

One’s eyes blazed. “Don’t fucking ‘sorry’ me, asshole! You don’t get to say that after threatening my team. Now, where’s Four?”

\-----

Jaye watched as two of the targets, Three and Seven, carefully sat and supported the still unconscious Four in between them. Their movements were gentle, even with the specialized handcuffs restricting them. After softly bickering with each other on whose shoulder they’d rest the blond’s head on, Three held back a smug smile when Seven tilted Four’s head towards the taller man.

“You care about him.” She blurted out, in her surprise. 

“Yeah, actually.” Their doctor, aka Five, snapped at her from where she was re-bandaging Two’s shoulder. “But I don't expect you military pricks to understand.” Immediately after, she winced and turned to the man beside her. “Sorry, Sev.” 

“Nah, I get it. No harm done.”

“Hey.” Two nodded at Jaye, who’s injury mirrored hers. “Good fight.”

Jaye smiled. “Yeah. You’re tougher than you look.”

“At least you had another woman to fight.” Three harrumphed. “We had some crazy zombie ninja!”

Five tried to correct him. “I’m pretty sure he's not a zombie-”

“ _ He wouldn’t die!” _ Three yelled. “I hit him with the car and he wouldn’t die! I hit him with a truck and he still wouldn’t die! Just gets back up like he was the fucking  _ terminator _ ! I had to hit him with a  _ train _ ! But guess what? He’s still not dead cos he’s  _ right here _ !” 

By the end, everyone was in tears from laughing at Three’s horrified recounting of their escape, and for a brief moment it felt like they were a big group of friends, and not captors and prisoners.

“Why’s ev’ryone yelling?” Four slurred as he finally came to.

Three gasped happily. “Quatro! You’re alive!” He tried to hug the young man, but since his hands were still cuffed, he ended up elbowing him in the gut instead, making Four double over in pain.

“Watch it, Three!” One scolded. “He’s delicate!”

“‘M not delicate!” Four pouted.

“Okay, good! If that’s the case, here’s everything you missed: Brick shit-house over there knocked you out then threatened to torture you if we didn’t surrender so now we’re on our way to being locked up forever!” One explained gleefully and ended with a bright smile.

Four's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “What? Why would you do that?”

His smile disappeared. “Did you not hear the part where they said they were gonna torture you?”

“Well, yeah, I did. But that’s never stopped you before.”

“Nuh-uh! How many times do I have to tell you? Things are different now!”

“But now  _ everyone’s  _ gonna be tortured!” Four was devastated. _ And it’s all my fault! _

“Nobody is being tortured.” Duke declared grimly. “Not if I can help it.”

Mouse breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god! I’ve been worrying about that ever since Roadblock said it.”

Three, Four, and Five’s jaws all dropped in shock as they recognized the speaker.

“Joe?!”

Mouse waved awkwardly. “Uh, hi Ben.”

\-----

As they were led down the seemingly never-ending series of identical hallways, Four called out, tone somewhat miffed. “So when were you gonna tell me you were part of a super-secret elite military spy team?”

“When were  _ you  _ going to tell me you were going to kill the president?” Mouse sniped back.

“And I suppose Joe isn’t even your real name?”

“I don’t know. Is Ben  _ yours _ ?” 

Seven leaned over, trying to be helpful. “They call him Mouse apparently.” 

Four scowled. “Mouse? What kind of name is Mouse?!” 

“What kind of name is Four?” He retorted. 

“A damn good name is what it is!” 

“Not that good.” Snake-Eyes butt into their conversation. “In Chinese it rhymes with death. Bad luck.”

Three gasped in horror “Why the fuck would you say something like that?”

Ignoring everyone else, Four began to yell at Mouse. “And  _ anyways, _ at least I have a  _ proper _ name, and it’s Billy!” 

“Well good for you! I’m  _ Gaines _ !” Mouse screamed back with equal fervor.

Beside Two, Roadblock buried his face in both hands. “God, please don’t tell me you and your boyfriend are fighting.”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” The pair yelled in sync, ganging up on Roadblock, who raised his hands in surrender. At the same time, One and Duke happened to sigh in exasperation before glaring at each other, only to relent when they realized they were doing the exact same thing for the exact same problem. This was getting weird.

\-----

It took a lot longer than Duke wanted to get everyone calmed down and into the interrogation room, and even longer to get any of them to talk seriously. For hours, their leader One, talked in circles about the daily routines and bored antics they indulged in within the little “graveyard” they called home. Mouse and Four already made peace with each other and were now pressed close, faces inches away as they giggled and gossiped about who knows what. The rest either watched the pair protectively (Seven, Flint, and Roadblock), watched them with a huge grin (Jaye and Five), or sat in the back whispering lovey-dovey nonsense at each other (Two and Three). Well, Three was the one whispering nonsense while Two rolled her eyes with a fond smile on her face. This was getting very surreal and Duke didn’t like it.

At least Snake-Eyes was trying to be serious.

If he had to hear about how Four secretly tried to learn how to bake and ended up making the oven explode for another minute longer, Duke was going to cry. “Just give us the information we want!”

“Dude, don’t tell my team what to do. Only I can do that.”

“You and your ‘team’ are under my jurisdiction. I can tell whoever I want, what to do, whenever I want. Now, you’re going to tell us who you are and who you work for.”

“We don’t have to tell you anything.” One smirked, relishing in the exhausted sigh he let out.

“I know him.” Deciding to rescue their poor leader, Snake-Eyes spoke up as he stepped into the limelight. “He’s Craig Haskell. Genius, billionaire, inventor. One of my enemies was very interested in your electromagnet technology, only to be disappointed when he heard of your passing.”

“Those two,” he said, pointing to Two and Seven, “clearly have military background. Her fighting is more refined and she’s also adept at subterfuge so I’m thinking, she’s C.I.A. and he’s either army or marines.”

Then he turned to Three. “This one fights rough, like a street brawler. But he’s good with guns and he kills with the precision of a trained killer. So I would say he’s more of a hired hitman.”

Four and Five shared a glance, so far, he had guessed their backgrounds perfectly. 

“Now her, she says she’s just a doctor but somehow she also knows military protocol and even what kind of equipment we would have on hand. It’s not a stretch to say she must have been a surgeon in a military base or even a field hospital before. Last one has no military background. He can also fight, and he fights dirty, but prefers to run instead and was very agile when Flint was chasing him. Not an assassin or hitman. More like a cat burglar. A thief. Someone who can sneak in, take what is needed, and make a quick escape over rooftops. I wouldn’t be surprised if he grew up on the streets and had to steal to make a living.”

“Oh and the two of them,” he motioned between Two and Three, “are definitely fucking.”

Three gaped. “How the hell do you know all that?”

“You are all open books. You gave yourselves away.” He shrugged.

Duke was dumbfounded. “You mean you knew  _ all this time _ and you never said anything?!”

“Alright,  _ Sherlock _ .” One drawled, a bit irked at how easily the guy saw through them. “So you got that part right. Doesn’t mean we’re gonna start spilling all our secrets.”

The sudden barking cough Three let out sounded suspiciously like laughter. “Oh yeah. No secrets from us.”

“Do you mind? I’m trying to be threatening here.”

Seven snorted. “Is that what that was?”

“I was being plenty threatening!”

“Oh please, my tita is scarier than that.” Even Five joined in. Four was grinning at the look on One’s face.

Duke couldn’t believe this. Both the President and the VP were killed by a bunch of  _ immature misfits _ . “Do any of you even realize how grave the crimes you’ve committed are?!”

“Yes!” One threw up his arms, exasperated. “This isn’t our first rodeo, bootlicker. Last year, we took down a dictator. One that the US government put into power, by the way.”

“I will admit that he had problems, but it still stands that you  _ killed  _ the president of the United States, which is treason. And because of that, you're all going to prison for life.”

One slammed both hands down on the table, making the Joes jump to attention. The only thing keeping them from pointing their guns at the Ghosts was Duke putting up a hand and motioning for them to relax. 

“ _ Problems?! _ You really have no fucking clue, do you? We were doing the country a favor!” One yelled with a hard look in his eyes. “You should have seen what he was planning. He was gonna make the world re-live  _ the Holocaust _ by locking up every Mexican, Chinese, and Japanese person on American soil! He was buying chemical and biological weapons that could decimate entire cities with one blow. And guess where he was planning on dropping them? Russia. China. Iran. Syria. Pretty much every country on his ‘enemy list’ and any country that sides with them. He could’ve started World War Three with the click of a button.” 

Duke scoffed, trying to hide the worry of his suspicions being proven right. “You’re pulling my leg. You really expect us to believe this?”

“You took all our things right? Get my bag. There’s a hard drive shaped like a dildo in there.” When Roadblock choked at that statement, One quickly continued. “It’s not ours, we stole it from one of his trade partners in Luxembourg. By the way, we also killed that guy too. You’re welcome.”

It was Duke’s turn to throw his hands up in the air. “Oh great, you killed him too?!”

“He was getting too close for comfort” He shrugged.

“I think you mean he was making out with Four and you got all protective.” Seven added over Three’s teasing “papa wolf mode”.

“I was not being protective!”

“Of course you weren’t.” The marksman teased, then turned back to the Joes. “I know you want to think the best of our government, but we’re telling the truth. Believe me, I used to think great things about them too, but now I know better. And it’s not just them. There are other rich, powerful people in on it too, people that we're working on to put away for good.”

The captain sighed. “Alright, we’ll look into it.” He motioned to Jaye and Roadblock to take the Ghosts away.

“For now, you’ll be placed in a holding cell. Then, you’ll be transferred to the Secretary of Defense.”

\-----

“Well, that wasn’t as much of a disaster as I expected.” One leaned back on the concrete wall that made up their cell.

Four looked miserable. “This is all my fault.” 

“Hey you can’t blame yourself.” Five put a hand on his arm comfortingly.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve needed saving. And if I hadn’t gotten caught, none of you would’ve needed to show up. I’m the weakest link here and you should get rid of me.”

Seven balked. “Dude, all of us only had to deal with one of them each. Hell, I didn’t even come face to face with a single one. You, on the other hand, had  _ three  _ Joes on your tail. It’s not surprising that you’d be the one getting captured.”

“And did everyone see the guy that grabbed you?” Three mimicked having big muscles. “He was huge! I don’t think any of us could’ve won in a fight against him.”

“Two probably could.” The blond moped.

She snorted. “Nope. That guy could just hold me over his head and I wouldn’t be able to hit him.”

“If anyone’s to blame, it should be me.” Seven said, trying to make the younger man feel better. “I should’ve been watching your back.”

One snapped. “ _ No one _ is to blame! Period.”

\-----

They spent the next several hours chatting idly or playing random games as they awaited their death sentence, when a weird shuffling sound outside their cell caught their attention. After a moment, the thick, steel door swung open to reveal a nervous, red-haired sniper.

Four frowned. “Mouse? What are you doing here?”

“I told you to call me Gaines.” He replied fondly, taking hold of the blond's hand. “I’m here to bust you guys out!”

“Oh really?” A voice called out behind him.

Mouse jumped and spun around to watch as Roadblock came out of the shadows to stare down at him. To his credit, the sniper held his ground. “Yeah I am. You saw the files too. I can’t stand by and let them be tortured for the rest of their lives for doing the right thing.”

“If we help them, we’ll be branded as traitors and have a target on our backs.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time that's happened. We’ve gone rogue before. We can do it again.”

“They killed the president!”

“Jaye got to kill the last president!” Mouse whined.

“The last president was being impersonated by an actual bad guy.”

“Well  _ this president _ was an actual bad guy. And then he was gonna be replaced with an even  _ badder  _ bad guy!” He waved his arms wildly.

“You mean ‘worse’.” Flint pointed out.

“What?”

“You said ‘badder’. It’s supposed to be ‘worse’.”

“Jesus Christ. You know what I mean!” Mouse threw his hands up. “Also, when did  _ you  _ get here?”

Jaye came out of hiding as well. “The whole team is here, Mouse. The moment you left the room, we knew something was up.”

“Oh.” He deflated. “So you’re here to stop me?”

Duke massaged the bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but no, we’re not here to stop you. We’re here to help.”

“Huh. Maybe I judged you too harshly back there.” One murmured, surprised by his change of stance. “You know they’re gonna go after you guys too right?”

“We’re well aware of the consequences. It’s not the first time we’ve been branded as traitors.”

At his questioning look, Roadblock explained dismissively. “Ehhh long story short, somebody impersonated the previous president and sent a bunch of Apache helicopters to kill us.” 

“Which they did. They killed 90% of the Joes.” Jaye added.

Mouse waved a hand to call attention to himself. “I got lucky. I was half-buried in debris and covered in blood so they just assumed I was dead.”

“Woah! Really?” Three jumped in excitedly.

“Hey! Enough chit-chat.” The captain really couldn’t believe he was doing this. “We need to go, asap.”

The Joes led the Ghosts through secret tunnels that wound throughout the entire complex. At last, they came to a small door. On the other side was their freedom.

Before Four could duck through the gap, Mouse grabbed hold of his arm and turned him around so they were face to face. The redhead ducked his head, a bit shy and unsure how the other would react. “Hey do you think maybe we could keep in contact sometime? Or, you know, maybe I could join you?”

_ Yes. _ Four’s heart screamed, but he had to play it cool. Can’t have himself looking too desperate. “I guess you could, but it’s too bad we’ve already got a sniper.”

Mouse snorted. “Well the Joes have at least five, so I think it’ll be fine if I showed up with you guys.”

“For fuck's sake! Enough with the bad flirting and just kiss him already!” One snapped. “We’re on the clock, you know.”

“They were flirting?!”

Jaye groaned. “Yes! Now shut up, Flint!”

When they kissed, Mouse was certain there were sparks flying. He didn’t ever want to stop, and it seemed, neither did Four. Feeling bold, He twisted them both and tried to dip Four, only to be pulled to the ground as the blond weighed a lot more than he expected. Not to be deterred by a little mishap, he settled between Four’s legs. Billy let out an “oof” when his back hit the ground but he started to smile as Mouse continued to kiss him regardless of their new position.

One groaned, burying his face in his hands. “We haven’t even escaped yet!”


End file.
